BRS demands status quo on Nagarjunasagar, Srisailam; blames Congress for KRMB supervision

HYDERABAD: Former Irrigation Minister and BRS leader Singireddy Niranjan Reddy has lashed out at the Telangana Government over reports that it has handed over the management of common irrigation projects of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to the Centre.

Addressing media at the Telangana Bhavan on Saturday, Niranjan Reddy said, "Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar are joint State projects. In 2015, the Central Government tried to bring them under the purview of the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) but KCR as Chief Minister vehemently opposed the move. Due to the involvement of then Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu as he was part of the NDA Government, some decisions were made which were unfair to Telangana."

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The Centre had convened a meeting with authorities of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in New Delhi on January 17 to discuss irrigation projects. The Jal Shakti Ministry had released minutes of the meeting that the two States had agreed to handover the management of the two projects to the river board. However, Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy said this fact was placed in error.

Condemning this move, Niranjan Reddy said, "It was clearly mentioned in the minutes of the meeting that Telangana had agreed to handover the projects to the KRMB. But the State is denying that fact. Whom should we believe and what is authentic- the Ministers or the the minutes of the meeting?

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"The status quo should continue until the water share is settled. Is this your gift to the people of Khammam, Mahabubnagar and Nalgonda who voted for the Congress in huge numbers? The Centre has decided the fulfill the wishes of Andhra Pradesh and the Telangana Government has acceded to its demands. The Congress Government is making light of this issue. This will have an impact on Telangana and people would be burdened to shift to thermal electricity. Let's go to New Delhi to protect the interests of the State, we will come along with you," Niranjan Reddy said.